I’m excited by the start of the new semester! This year marks the 10th cohort for our MSc in Multimedia and Entertainment Technology program. Looking back, it is amazing to acknowledge that we have a network of over five hundred alumni working in the media technology industry and in education, including many in Hong Kong. A lot has changed over the past ten years and, with ten years of offering this program, we’ve learned a lot about how best to create a rich and enlightening educational experience for our students.
Over the summer, we’ve been busy updating the program and the way in which it is delivered. The industry continues to change at a rapid pace. I love the quote “We are currently preparing students for jobs that don’t yet exist, using technologies that haven’t been invented in order to solve problems we don’t even know are problems yet.” This quote is from ”Did You Know,” which was recently updated and is viewable at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pMcfrLYDm2U.
The dynamic nature of the technology and industry continues to present new opportunities. Platforms such as mobile devices and social networks play an increasingly important role over traditional forms of television, film and print. New services enabled by these platforms are going from zero to millions of users around the World in just months.
To prepare our graduates for careers in an industry of dynamic change and uncertainty, our program focuses on cultivating the “inner” skills, such as: observation, “out of the box” thinking, fear / anxiety management, and team-building to enhance creativity and help students identify new opportunities and quickly execute to capitalize on them.
Our students develop solutions to address new opportunities as the method of learning. Our MSc program previously focused on developing students’ skills throughout the year that culminated in a “final MSc Project” implemented in the last eight weeks. Now we will challenge students to immediately begin defining their project and use this project throughout the year as the basis for their coursework. We are also organizing a bi-monthly speaker series of leading figures from industry and academia, and hosting leading regional conferences such as TEDxHongKong to provide students with fresh insight and ideas.
To keep the program focused, we’ve introduced “streams” that provide students with greater depth in specific areas relevant to industry, such as: video game development, animation and visual effects, and social / mobile / interactive applications. A new area we are pioneering is in applied design psychology. Just as people are becoming increasingly concerned about sustainability and the environment, it is important for technology and content creators to understand the impact that media has on the mind, culture, and society. This area also helps students use the latest psychological research to enhance the commercial and popular success of their projects.
Unlike traditional education programs based upon lectures, projects, and exams, the modality of teaching will be by active engagement. We’ve assembled a great team of educators with significant industry experience who will be speaking from their direct knowledge rather than concepts and theories. Inspired by programs such as Y-Combinator (http://ycombinator.com/), student projects will benefit from the wealth of knowledge and resources at M-Lab, our commercially oriented laboratory.
Can our students create the next Angry Birds or Group-on? With inspired students, great teachers, production facilities, and a year of collaborative development, I believe so. That’s why I’m so excited by the start of the new semester!!
